Caption: Kilauea is the youngest volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii and the most active volcano on Earth. The newest eruption of Kilauea began in January 1983 and continues to this day. On March 13, 2008, a new gas vent opened in the eastern wall of Halemaumau, the volcano's summit crater and home to Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess. The event elevated the amount of sulfur dioxide erupting from the crater. Typically the emission rate has been between 150 to 200 tons/day. The March event increased that level up to 2,000 tons/day -- the highest ever recorded since monitoring began in 1979. The clouds are a mixture of water vapor, sulfur trioxide, and invisible sulfur dioxide. The cloud appears blue in places if tiny sulfur particles are present. Larger sulfur particles give the cloud a yellowish glow.